All posts tagged transformers

Auto makers ranging from General Motors to Great Wall Motor to China Guangzhou Auto are increasingly taking roles on the silver screen to tout their brands. Some even take the lead, with GM’s Chevrolet Camaro portraying Bumblebee in the “Transformers” movies.

Paramount Pictures’ vice chairman breathed a sigh of relief this week when announcing that a clash with a Chinese partner would not derail the release date for “Transformers: Age of Extinction” in China. Read More »

Toy makers have some good news to counter concerns about holiday sales in the U.S.: International consumers.

The two largest toy makers — Hasbro and Mattel — in recent days have posted positive sales surprises in their third-quarters, showing that sales in international markets are growing fast enough to pick up slack demand out of the U.S.

Hasbro today said U.S. sales were down 5%, while international sales grew 11%, thanks to brand-hungry consumers in Latin America, Russia and Turkey. Mattel last week said international were up 9%, compared with a rise of 3% in North America.

“The two toughest areas around the world I’d say from a consumer sentiment continue to be Australia and the U.S.,” Hasbro Chief Executive Brian Goldner said on Monday’s conference call to discuss a 17% jump in profit. “We’re seeing enthusiasm in Latin America and major areas of Europe particularly in Russia and Turkey.”

“Tranformers” has turned out to be one of Hasbro’s most lucrative brands thanks to a successful film franchise.

The toy business isn’t what it used to be, with kids in need of entertainment looking more to their smartphones and social networks and less to their figurines and board games. Toy maker Hasbro had a tough time of it in 2012 — longer term problems in the toy industry combined with a patchy economies in the U.S. and Europe — and sales slid in the all-important holiday season.

Its toys targeting boys get much of their momentum from big movie releases, analysts at KeyBank wrote in a note this week, and in 2012 that came from the likes of The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man. This year will be relatively quiet in comparison, although there will be a new G.I. Joe film coming out, based on the toy and media franchise owned by Hasbro. 2014 could be more lively, with expectations for a new Transformers movie (also based on a Hasbro brand) as well as more installments from the Spider Man and X-Men franchises.

So 2013 looks like a relatively quiet one for the boys side of the business. But on the other side, there is a bright spot: Nerf Rebelle, a new line of Nerf guns especially for the girls. Apparently realising girls want to shoot things as much as anyone, the Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow captures a little bit of the Jennifer Lawrence / Hunger Games vibe, bringing lady-crossbow chic into the Nerf world.